Men's Lacrosse: Hampden-Sydney Doubles Up Virginia Wesleyan, 18-9

HAMPDEN-SYDNEY, VA (April 28, 2010)—The #19 nationally-ranked Hampden-Sydney lacrosse team advanced to the ODAC semifinals today with an 18-9 win over Virginia Wesleyan, and in the process tied the program record for most wins in a single season with 13. It was the Tigers seventh consecutive victory, and also marked the seventh straight opponent that they have held in single digits. The Tigers stormed out of the gates early and grabbed a big lead, but Virginia Wesleyan was able to climb back into the contest heading into halftime. The Tigers responded with a third quarter blitzkrieg in which they scored a season-high nine goals in one period to end the visitors' hopes for an upset. Hampden-Sydney was led on the day by senior captain Kyle Jett (Suffolk, VA/Nansemond Suffolk), who scored four goals and added an assist. Jett now has 67 points on the season, which marks the most single-season points by a midfielder in Hampden-Sydney history.

The Tigers set the tone from the opening face-off, where freshman Brad Mostowy (Atlanta, GA/Trinity Pawling) controlled the draw, raced through the Marlin defense and ripped a shot past the goalie to give the home squad the lead just nine seconds into play. Jett scored his record-breaking point on a goal moments later on an assist from junior Cole Hawthorne (Richmond, VA/Collegiate), before Hawthorne scored one of his own to put the Tigers up 3-0 just four minutes into the game. Sophomore Ben Clarke (Virginia Beach, VA/Norfolk Academy) got in on the action with a strike two minutes later, but Virginia Wesleyan then scored three straight to make the score 4-3 in favor of Hampden-Sydney after one quarter of play.

The second quarter began just like the first, with the Tigers controlling the opening face-off. Sophomore Carter Mavromatis (Virginia Beach, VA/Cape Henry) raced in and grabbed the ground ball before blazing past a pair of Marlin defenders and burying a shot past the keeper just 11 seconds into the action. Sophomore Micah Keller (Richmond, VA/Christchurch), who had been the focal point of the Virginia Wesleyan defense, was finally able to break through moments later with a nice spin move and shot to give Hampden-Sydney a three goal lead. The visitors responded again, however, with two more goals, including a back-breaker with one second remaining in the quarter to draw within 6-5 heading into the locker room.

Motivated by the close score, the Tigers came flying out of the locker room and unleashed an onslaught of goals on a dazed Virginia Wesleyan defense. Mavromatis started things out with a goal on an assist from Jett one minute in, before Jett found the net on a setup from freshman Ryan Martin (Midlothian, VA/Cosby) to put the Tigers up 8-5. The Marlins, showing some resiliency, bounced back with two more quick goals to pull to 8-7 with just under eleven minutes to play, but Hampden-Sydney scored seven consecutive goals to close out the quarter and take the commanding lead. Jett started the spurt with a goal, then Keller scored his second before Hawthorne followed suit on Martin's second assist to make the score 11-7. Mavromatis, Jett, and Clarke each scored a goal apiece over a three-minute span, before Keller finished the quarter on a goal with 15 seconds left to put the Tigers up 15-7, coming on the first assist of the season for junior Nate Norbo (Waterford, VA/Loudoun Valley).

Martin scored a goal five minutes into the final quarter before Virginia Wesleyan's Nick Northern scored two straight to make the score 16-9. Senior Hunter Phillips (Richmond, VA/Collegiate) got in on the action with a goal coming on a setup from classmate Kevin Coats (Charlottesville, VA/Albemarle), before junior Dudley Locke (Alexandria, VA/St. Stephen's & St. Agnes) closed out the scoring with a strike with two and a half minutes left to make the final score 18-9.

In addition to Jett's points record, Keller's three goals gives him 45 on the season, which is tied for the sixth most in a season in program history. Hawthorne also grabbed three ground balls, which puts him at the 50 ground ball plateau for the first time in his career. The Tiger defense put forth another excellent effort against the Marlins, with senior captain Daniel Martin (Charlottesville, VA/Albemarle) grabbing a team-high five ground balls and causing two turnovers, junior Peter Foley (McLean, VA/Langley) grabbing four ground balls and causing two turnovers, and Norbo adding three ground balls and two caused turnovers.

On the day, the Tigers outshot Virginia Wesleyan 45-30, grabbed 43 ground balls to 35 for the Marlins, and had four less turnovers than the visitors. Hampden-Sydney's record now stands at 13-4, and they will now take on the Hornets of Lynchburg College in an ODAC semifinal matchup. The game will be played at Lynchburg on Sunday, due to Hampden-Sydney's exam schedule. Face-off for that game is still to be determined. Be sure to check back at www.hsc.edu/athletics for updates and information.